FARMERS' REGISTER, 



573 



hut HP I cannot, and you have by iliis lime no 

 (ioiibt Ibund ihis lonij scrawl a sulficient bore, I 

 will not trouble you fartiier, tlian to apolofrize lor 

 vvritintj to you (I can scarce say why) upon a 

 pubjt^ct wilii which you are so much better ac- 

 quainted tiian any one I know. 



INCREASING JJKIMAND FOR CRANBERRIES. 



From the Yankee Tanner. 



One company soKl last year six thousand dollars 

 worth ofcranberries for one market, Nevv Orleans. 

 We are inlormed that this ariicle now s.-ilis m this 

 market lor three times as much as it did fifief n 

 years ajfo. There is a (jreai call lor cranberries 

 li)r the southern market, and they are excellent 

 for ship stores. The cranberry is one of the most 

 wholesome and palatable olTruiis, and it can easi- 

 ly be preserved for a lon«j lime. 



Alariy persons have «rood advantages fiir the 

 production ol' the cranberry or lor increasing their 

 crops bv good manairement and cuhivaiion. Four 

 acres oi'land, conveniently situated lor the advan- 

 tages of this market, were offered lor 60 dollars, 

 lour or five years since ; lately five hundred dol- 

 lars were offered for this land. The increased 

 valiie is principtdly owing to its producing cran- 

 berries. The crop sold last year for 400 dollars. 



LIME AND IMAR«!II MUD. 



From Dig American Farmer. 



A gentleman distinguished lor good and great 

 qualities, tells us, that on a sandy soil, he has Ibund 

 lime a powerful lertilizer. A poor field put in corn 

 — yield 10 bushels — lollowed by oals— crop light 

 — succeeded by wheat — yield not more than the 

 seed — limed, ami next crop gave 40 bushels to 

 the acre. Experience has taught iiim the great 

 value of maj-s/i mud, especially when used in com- 

 bination with a small quantity of lime. Keeps a 

 email force specially assigned to the collection of 

 marsh mud, weeds, leaves, mould li-om the woods, 

 &c., and is amply compensated for it — cantiot too 

 biijhly recommend the use of marsh mud — has co- 

 vered several acres with brushwood. The fertiliz- 

 ing effect very obvious, and thinks poor land may be 

 reclaimed by a covering of brushwood, very speedi- 

 ly, and with great economy as to the labor and the 

 results — is very carelul to have all brush not large 

 enough lor firewood, even the pruning of his or- 

 chards, reserved to he spread upon the most ex- 

 hausted portions of his land. 



EXPERiaiENT OF Sir.K-"WOR3IS REARED IN 

 THE OPEN AIR. 



[The early part of the following experiment 

 was stated in our notices of the Cape Fear country, 

 at page 254, of this volume ; and we are gratified 

 thus to learn the results. They are fully as good 

 as could have been expected, of worms exposed 

 to all kinds of weather, independent of other disad- 

 vantages. This experiment is enough to show 

 that success in rearing silk-worms, unsheltered, 

 and left to feed themselves, cannot be hoped for. 



Still, if only in deterring from similar attempts, (of 

 which there have already been many made in dif- 

 ferent forms,) this report will be useful, as well as 

 interesting. Much good would be done to agri- 

 culture if many other persons would, as Dr. 

 Mcilee has done in this case, report the results of 

 unsuccessful as freely as ofsuccessful experiments. 

 The one class of reports might save readers and 

 experimenters from as many farming sins of com- 

 mission, OS the other class of reports ought to pre- 

 sent of sins of omission. 



As the few survivors of this brood of worms 

 were of course free from all the diseases caused 

 by confinement, and its accompaniments, it seems 

 most probable, as Dr. McRee thinks, that their 

 eggs will produce a more than usually vigorous 

 stock of worms. That question will form for him 

 a subject for another interesting experiment next 

 season, to be used in his cocconerj'. — Ed. F. R.] 



To llie Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. 



Wilmington, N. C, Sept., 1840. 

 You expressed some interest when here last 

 spring, in a rude experiment i was conducting, to 

 test the hardiness of the silk-worm, and especially 

 its capacity to etidure cold and wet weather, witli 

 the various alternations of the two, to which our 

 climate is so subject at that season. No accurate 

 results were obtained, for want of a knowledge of 

 the exact number of eggs which were subjected 

 to the experiment ; but some general facts were 

 elicited not altoge;her uninteresting or useless. 

 You know the eggs were exposed on the branches 

 of the mulberry trees early in March, and, as well 

 as I could ascertain, most (f'lhem halclied out 

 and immediately commenced eating the muliicau- 

 lis leaves; at this time we had weather so cool as 

 olien to produce a white frost at night, and, as well 

 as 1 could judge, without any prejudicial effect 

 upon the larvm. Severe winds were also common, 

 and, in the last week of March, we liad a snow- 

 storm of some severity, liie snow whitening the 

 ground, but not remaining over a day on the expos- 

 ed surliice of the ground. All these vicissitudes of 

 weather, with li-equcnt drenching showers of rain, 

 the greater part of the worms seemed to withstand 

 without any apparent injury ; and althoutrh t];ere 

 was a daily loss from various casualties, I cannot 

 say that I could fairly attribute a greater part to 

 the weather than to these other causes. These 

 other causes alluded to, were the depredation of 

 ants — perhaps birds — the worms fallinsT on the 

 ground and feeding on grass, thistles, &c. ; for 

 when detached from the leaf and on the ground, 

 they seemed to lack instinct to direct them again 

 to the natural and wholesome food, but seized 

 upon the nearest green herb, (I thought) with 

 perfect indifference as to its character, and as they 

 could not thrive on such fare, they gradually wast- 

 ed away and died. Many were lost through a 

 most singular defect of instinct ; for they would eat 

 away the leaves over their heads till their attach- 

 ment to the parent stock would become too feeble 

 to sustain them, and they would drop on the 

 ground and perish. I do not mean that they 

 would cut off the petiole of the leaf, but would 

 cut it up into shreds and hang on to the dependent 



